Twitter faces lingering doubts about its future

Can Twitter ever be more than it is? That’s the ultimate question facing the 9-year-old social-networking company as it seeks a new chief executive who can lead it to a rosier future. To reach that goal, Twitter — like every other company in the tech industry — needs to show constant, meaningful growth. In Twitter’s …

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Nikon unleashes $1,400 supertelephoto zoom and more

Enlarge ImageNikon’s 200-500mm f5.6 lens takes on Sigma and Tamron’s competing models. Nikon Sigma and Tamron have heated up the competition for relatively inexpensive supertelephoto lenses geared to enthusiast wildlife and sports shooters, with models like the $1,100 (AU$1,250) Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 Contemporary (£903) and Tamron 150-600mm f5-6.3 (£770). Nikon’s joining the club with the AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f5.6E ED …

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Apple loses top spot in Chinese smartphone market to Xiaomi

Apple is no longer the top dog in China’s smartphone market. CNET Apple is no longer king of the smartphone market in China, according to research firm Canalys. For the second quarter of the year, local mobile phone vendor Xiaomi bounced back with an estimated market share of 15.9 percent to steal the top spot away from Apple. Fellow Chinese …

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Get an unlocked Amazon Fire Phone for $149.97

CNET’s Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. Amazon I’m going to plagiarize myself a little bit this morning, because sometimes my hilarity goes unheralded… Not everything Amazon touches turns to gold — or fire. The company’s first smartphone, for example, …

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Windows 10 Web browser shootout: Edge vs. IE vs. Chrome

The Edge Web browser built into Windows 10 promises a new ground-up experience after years of diminishing returns from the company’s longtime staple, Internet Explorer. Besides new features, such as the ability to mark up and share annotated pages, Edge promises to be more secure and even more useful, thanks to the addition of the Cortana personal assistant. There’s certainly …

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Matchstick snuffs out Firefox

MatchStick was due to be released this month. MatchStick/Kickstarter Matchstick, the dongle intended to challenge Google’s Chromecast in streaming video and music to your television, is no more. The team behind the HDMI media-streaming stick announced Monday it has decided to cancel the unreleased product and refund all the money raised in a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign last year. The …

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Sprint taps new execs as it hopes to forge new identity

Sprint said on Monday that it had added two new key executives. The nation’s third-largest wireless carrier named Tarek Robbiati, formerly the CEO of financial services company FlexiGroup, as its chief financial officer. He replaces Joe Euteneuer, who will leave after an “orderly transition of responsibilities.” Sprint also named Gunther Ottendorfer chief operating officer. He replaces former SoftBank executive Junichi …

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Speedy

Deliv, a 3-year-old startup, is among a handful of players working to speed up online deliveries. Deliv Soon you’ll have no reason to leave home. Deliv, a startup that offers same-day deliveries from brick-and-mortar stores, announced a big expansion Monday, more than doubling the number of markets it reaches. The 3-year-old Menlo Park, California, company added the New York City …

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Over 800 porn sites banned in India following government crackdown

India has banned hundreds of pornographic websites, making it harder — but not impossible — for Indians to access the content. CNET One of the world’s largest markets for watching pornography has lost access to over 800 sites, according to reports. Over the weekend, India’s government called on Internet Service Providers (ISP) across the country to ban over 800 pornographic …

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Apple may enlist Siri to answer your phone calls

Will Siri be adding voice mail transcription to its list of skills? Josh Miller/CNET Apple reportedly is cooking up a voice mail and transcription service that would use Siri as your own personalized answering machine. The Cupertino, California-based electronics giant is testing a voice mail service in which Siri, Apple’s digital assistant on the iPhone and iPad, would respond to …

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Why virtual reality makes me want to dream of the future

Now playing: Watch this: Virtual reality is going to get even more amazing, fast 0:30 Every time I put on a heavy pair of plastic, foam-lined virtual reality goggles, I feel silly. Of course I would: there I am, slipping a phone into a dock that fits over my face with elastic straps. It’s weird. It’s clunky. It’s decidedly unsexy. …

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Sony unveils smartphones with 13

Sony is trying to lure in selfie-takers with its Xperia M5 (left) and Xperia C5 Ultra (right). Sony Sony is trying to woo selfie-taking consumers with its latest two smartphones. Unveiled on Monday, the Xperia C5 Ultra and Xperia M5 both include 13-megapixel cameras on the front and back. That’s a change of pace since typically smartphone makers reserve the …

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Oppo gets first smartphone carrier deal thanks to Optus

The Oppo R7 and R7 Plus Oppo Oppo has announced its first Australian telco partnership, with Optus set to offer the Oppo R7 smartphone on plan, starting from today. The Chinese-based Oppo launched into the Australian market in September of 2014, beginning with four different phone models. Initially, the products were only available via the company’s own e-commerce site, but …

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AT&T will let you pay for TV, wireless service under one discounted bill

AT&T is offering the first nationwide bundle of services. CNET/Marguerite Reardon Well, AT&T didn’t waste any time. Fresh off of closing its acquisition of DirecTV last month, the nation’s second-largest wireless carrier unveiled its first bundle of mobile and television services. The company is offering four wireless accounts with 10GB of sharable data and television service with high-definition video and …

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Use Google Maps to see where you’ve traveled

Josh Miller/CNET Google Maps has been tracking everywhere your phone has gone, and now it’s ready to share that data with you, and only you. Using a handy new feature called Your Timeline on the Web and Android, you can see all of the places you’ve visited to plotted on a map, plus detailed itineraries of your travels. While the …

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